*
By: Madison Yantzie
* I chose the story “The Sniper” for this project
to demonstrate the 5 Elements of Literature.
The elements are Plot, Characterization, Point
of View, Setting, and Theme. All stories must
contain these 5 things for it to be a good story.
“The Sniper” contains all of these parts as my
presentation will show.
*
*
Exposition- Introduction of setting and characters, sets the mood and tone,
provides background information
*
*
Inciting Incident- Event that introduces the central conflict
Rising Action- develops conflict and complications
(events leading up to Climax)
*
*
Climax- High point of interest or suspension
*
*
Resolution- Central conflict is solved
Falling Action- Events following the climax
Dénouement- What follows the resolution and ties up the loose ends
*
•
•
• Republicans
and Free
Staters were
waging civil
war
• Republican
Sniper and
Free Stater
Sniper on the
rooftops
Exposition
• Free Stater
Sniper
watching
Republican
sniper
• Free
Stater
Sniper
shoots at
Republican
Sniper
•
Republican
Sniper
shoots at
enemy car
and old
woman on
the street
Free Stater
shot
Republican
Sniper
Republican
Sniper
cleans
himself
up
• Republican Sniper
thinks of a risky
plan to kill the
other sniper
• Republican Sniper
puts the plan into
action
Climax
• Republican
Sniper
dangles arm
from the
roof top
• Drops his
riffle in the
street
• Free Stater
Sniper
thinks he
killed
Republican
Sniper
Inciting
Incident
Element Plot for “The Sniper”
• Republican
Sniper goes
to see the
Free Stater
Sniper that
he shot
• The dead
Free Stater
• Republican
Sniper was
Sniper shoots the
the Free
Republican
Stater Sniper Sniper’s
brother
Resolution
Dénouement
* If you recall I previously explained what the
Dénouement is to a story. It is what follows
the Resolution and ties up the loose ends of the
story. The Dénouement of this story was the
Republican Sniper goes to see the Free Stater
Sniper that he shot and the dead Free Stater
Sniper was the Republican Sniper’s brother.
This would be the Dénouement because it ties
up the loose ends and closes up the story.
*
* Characterization is the process by which the writer
reveals the personality of a character.
Characterization is revealed through direct
characterization and indirect characterization. To
further explain characterization I am going to explain
an example from the story “The Sniper”. The
character I selected was The Republican Sniper. His
characterization was developed indirectly. The
characterization was indirect because we are told
some of The Republican Snipers thoughts. His actions
are also described as well as what he is wearing.
*
* Point of view, in general, is the narrative perspective
from which a story is told. Basically, you are using POV
to determine how and from whom you want your
readers to hear your story. The point of view is 1st, 2nd,
or 3rd person. If you think the story is 3rd person then it
is either omniscient or limited. Omniscient is when the
narrator knows the thoughts and feelings of ALL the
characters. Limited is when the story is written from
one characters prospective. “The Sniper” is 3rd person
limited because it is told entirely in The Republican
Snipers prospective. For example “ He has been to
excited to eat” This is an example of 3rd person limited
because it told the reader the Republican Sniper’s
feelings and none of the other characters.
*
* The tone of the story is negative. “The Sniper” has
a negative tone because in parts of the story the
main character the Republican Sniper gave the
reader a cold feeling because the story said “He
raised his rifle and fired” and later in the story the
Republican Sniper never made reference to feeling
bad about killing the people. The story was told by
a narrator as if they were watching the whole story
play out. For example “Suddenly from the opposite
roof a shot rang out and the sniper dropped his rifle
with a curse.” The narrator would be reliable
because he/she is just stating what is happening
and not so much their personal feelings.
*
* Setting is where and when the story takes place. The
setting of “The Sniper” is in June as twilight is fading
into night, this explains the time frame that the story
takes place in. “The Sniper” was during a civil war, this
is a key detail because the story probably would not
have happened if there was not a war. Finally, the
Snipers are on the rooftops, this plays a part in when
the Republican Sniper creates his plan to kill the Free
Stater Sniper. If the story did not tell us that the snipers
were on the rooftops then the Republican Sniper’s plan
would not have made sense to the reader. The setting
affects the way the reader pictures the story and can
also help to build the plot and understand the story.
*
* The theme that pertains to “The Sniper” is: In
civil war we end up hurting the ones we love.
The first part of the theme comes from the
story revolving around a civil war. The second
part came from the Republican Sniper finding
out he killed his brother, and most people love
their family. In the end I check to see if the
theme held true to the entire story and it did,
so in turn it is a good theme for the story.
*
* In conclusion, I have use the story “The Sniper”
to discuss the 5 Elements of Literature. The
elements are Plot, Characterization, Point of
View, Setting, and Theme. “The Sniper”
contains all the parts as I have explained which
is why I would consider “The Sniper” to be a
very good story.
*